Soothe The Savage
by the diggler
Summary: Saitou gives Sano a birthday present like no other. (yaoi SaiSa fluff)


Warnings: Some bad language and extremely OOC, but that's kinda the point.

A/N: Written for Nekk's Lovey Doveys Fanfiction Challenge for the scenario in which Saitou deals with Sano's birthday. Thanks Nekkie for prompting me to write another SaiSa ^_^

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><p><em>My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,<br>By just exchange one for another given:  
>I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,<br>There never was a better bargain driven:  
>My true-love hath my heart, and I have his.<em>

_- Sir Philip Sidney_

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><p>"Ha-ji-meee..." Sano drawled in what he hoped was his sultriest come-hither voice.<p>

"What is it." Saitou grunted, not even looking up from his paperwork.

Sano huffed. He tried again.

"Haa-jiii-meeee..." he crooned even more huskily, leaning over the desk and batting his eyelashes at the unfortunately occupied man.

Saitou briefly looked up.

"Got something in your eye?" he asked, his attention already returning to the papers on his desk.

Sano pouted, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. It had been like this for weeks already... him being ignored while Saitou was completely wrapped up in this latest drug-smuggling case. Sano understood that what Saitou was doing was important, but they barely even saw each other anymore! The man always seemed to be at the office or out somewhere because of the case, and on the rare occasion that he _did_ come home, his attention would still be buried deep in his files.

Needless to say, Sano was desperately lacking some action by now. But the unexpected thing was that he didn't really mind as much as he thought he would. Not when he was so worried about the man. He didn't care if Saitou fell asleep if Sano finally got him to bed, because then at least the man would be getting some rest. Really, he had never seen Saitou look so tired before.

He tried one more time to get Saitou's attention. Pulling his loose gi off he sat on the desk, leaning back into a (hopefully) alluring position and fanning himself, trying to look as sexy as possible.

"It's getting real hot, don't you think?" he asked throatily.

Saitou barely looked at him.

"Ahou ga, it's still winter. Put something on, you'll catch a cold that way."

Sano's jaw dropped in disbelief.

Saitou continued reading.

Resigned, Sano sighed, sliding off the desk and tugging his jacket back on. Che. Maybe he should've looked at the calendar before trying that last one. Giving up on the Saitou-seducing for the night, he sauntered over to the wall where said calendar hung, boredly flipping through the pages. Yep. Still winter. Dumbass. But oh hey...

"My birthday's coming up." Sano observed.

"Sou ka?" Saitou said.

Well, that was a response at least, even if Saitou's gaze never left his papers. Sano grinned toothily at the man.

"Are ya gonna get me a present?"

Saitou was silent as he flipped a page and Sano wondered if he even heard. But then,

"What would you like?"

Sano's grin returned, encouraged.

"Hmmm... I dunno... how 'bout paying off my tab at the Akabeko?"

Saitou snorted.

"Not likely."

"Awww why not?" Sano whined.

"You have a job. Pay it off yourself."

"But 'Jime, my construction job barely pays enough!"

"That's because you spend it all gambling. Try again."

Sano hmph-ed and pouted. Once again, the man was right. Damn him. But that was the only thing he could think of right now! In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there really was nothing else he needed, he wasn't really wanting for anything. Things had been good lately, and his life was pretty much complete.

"Well, I'm sure I'll think up something." Sano said.

Saitou grunted absentmindedly, the topic already forgotten. The man sighed, bringing a hand to his temples and massaging them delicately. Sano frowned. Heaving a sigh himself, he walked over behind Saitou's chair and began massaging the man's shoulders. A sound of appreciation rumbled deep in Saitou's throat as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"I know what I want." Sano murmured.

"Hmm?"

"I want us to spend some time together... no paperwork, no stakeouts, no job... just you and me."

"And what would we do?" Saitou asked.

"Whatever we want!" Sano exclaimed. "We can sleep in, go out somewhere nice... or better yet just stay home, laze around all day... fuck all day..."

Saitou chuckled. Sano grinned in triumph. He hadn't heard the man do that in a while.

"That sounds nice." Saitou said, sighing tiredly. Sano's brow furrowed again with concern.

"Come on 'Jime, come to bed."

Saitou took Sano's hands away from his shoulders, returning to his files.

"You go ahead, I'll be there soon." he assured.

But he never showed up... and Sano was starting to get used to sleeping alone.

Not to say he didn't try though. Being the stubborn roosterhead that he was always accused of being, he never gave up completely. For the next few weeks Sano pestered Saitou constantly... urging him to sleep, to take a break if he sat too long with his files... showing up at the office to make sure he ate something, even if he was totally ignored while Saitou ate... It got to the point where Chou stopped calling him Roosterhead and started calling him Mother Hen. But Sano didn't really care. He knew that these little things he did for Saitou were necessary. And they helped.

Boy was he whipped.

And what a shock that was, to realize how much he cared about the man. But he couldn't deny it. Though his behavior may have seemed easy or commonplace for someone else, it was extremely unusual for him. He had never gone to such lengths for someone without so much as a grunt of acknowledgment in return.

And up until then, he hadn't given his actions a second thought... But now, as he realized the depth of his feelings more and more each day, he also started to wonder how Saitou felt... if there was any chance he might feel the same way. The man had never given him any inkling of it, if anything only showing signs of the opposite. He wondered if Saitou even noticed all these things he did for him. Hell, if he cared at all.

Before long it was the eve of his birthday, and Sano found himself alone in the futon, staring down Saitou's western clock and wondering if Saitou would remember... if the man would even show up. He didn't know what to think anymore. At this point he wouldn't have minded having Saitou's attention long enough to be told to get lost.

Sano sighed. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt alone. And with each passing second a dull dread crept its way into his chest, as he became more and more convinced that the man just didn't care.

It was around midnight when Sano's senses suddenly registered Saitou's familiar tobacco tinted scent wafting into the room. He turned towards the shoji door to see a pair of amber eyes glinting at him through the darkness.

"You're home." he said, almost disbelieving what he was seeing.

"Aa." Saitou replied, entering the room. He began to undress, his eyes never leaving his supine lover.

Sano watched him silently, still amazed.

"You look surprised."

"I am." Sano responded, almost accusingly.

Saitou's brows dipped almost imperceptibly, in what Sano now knew was the man's version of a frown. Head bowed, Saitou exhaled a small huff of a sigh. He came to the futon and crawled in, wrapping his arms around Sano and pulling him close. Sano was at first reluctant, but relinquished with a defeated sigh, snuggling closer to the man.

"Sano... I know I haven't been around lately, but I'll make it up to you. The case is finished, we wrapped up all the paperwork tonight... And I have the day off tomorrow."

Sano smiled his first real smile in a long time.

"Happy birthday Sanosuke."

It was surprising, that for two people who hadn't been able to indulge in each other for so long, their lovemaking was painstakingly slow and teasing. But no less intense. Sano sensed the urgency within the wolf, but it seemed that with every caress and touch Saitou's movements became more reverently languid, drowsy with passion, and the man made sure to pay homage to every one of Sano's sensitive areas, reclaiming Sano's body as his territory, his home. And when they were finally joined, he moved so slowly and softly inside of Sano's body that towards the end Sano was brought shaking to tears. Heavy breaths and soft grunts filled the room, and as Saitou's fingers clamped tightly around Sano's shoulder a harsh whisper cut through the air in the form of Sano's name. In the next moment Sano came, trembling with a desperate whimper... Saitou following with a quiet shuddering gasp, his climax filling Sano inside.

They made love all night. Slept in late. Lazed around. Talked about nothing and everything. Made love again. Cooked and ate. Lazed around some more... Made love some more... And now they were sitting just inside the door to their back garden, Sano in Saitou's arms leaning back against the other man's chest, taking in the sunset as Sano hummed a romantic ditty he'd heard somewhere, lazily murmuring out the lyrics where he knew them.

It was perfect. Exactly what Sano had wanted, and exactly what Saitou had needed. Already the bags under the man's eyes were lighter, and the gaunt stress lines that had been etching their way into Saitou's features had left his face.

Sano smiled, his song abruptly forgotten, giving way to the quiet rustling of trees in the afternoon breeze.

"Thank you for a wonderful birthday." he said, giving Saitou's intertwined fingers an affectionate squeeze.

"No, I should be thanking you Sano. I know you don't think I noticed all you did for me these past weeks, but I did. Thank You. You're presence was... soothing."

Sano's heart swelled at these words, overwhelmed that the stoic man could say such a thing to him. Suddenly, more than anything, he wanted Saitou to know how he felt. He didn't care if the man didn't feel the same, he just needed Saitou to know.

"'Jime... I just wanted to take care of you. I love you."

There was silence as his words settled in the air around them, cocooning them in a comfortable quiet... then he felt Saitou's arms tighten ever-so slightly around him. In that moment, the tiny gesture meant more to Sano than anything Saitou had ever done, because it meant that the man really did care after all. He smiled softly, leaning back deeper into the embrace.

"Sanosuke..." Saitou whispered into Sano's hair, so quietly that Sano almost doubted that the man had spoken, "...I love you too."

Sano blinked in shock. He turned around in Saitou's arms, shaky with amazement at those words- only to freeze entirely, mouth gaping open in new shock.

He shut his eyes, giving himself a slight shake, then opened them and looked again.

It was no trick of light... the man's eyes... were *_blue*_.

"Your eyes..." Sano gasped. But even as he said it, the azure irises returned to their normal amber gleam, blending with the wash of golden light from the setting sun.

"What is it?" Saitou asked. Sano smiled, leaning down to kiss the man. It didn't matter if he never saw it again, but for one moment Saitou's well-built defenses had vanished, his guard had come down and he had let himself just purely *_be_*, his innermost feelings coming out in all honesty and sincerity...

He had been let into the depths of the wolf's heart, and it was the greatest gift Saitou could ever give him.

_._

_I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss..._

_My true-love hath my heart, and I have his._

_._

_owari May 23 '04_

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><p>diggler: It's almost blasphemous isn't it? The thought of saitou with blue eyes...<p>

sano: So if saitou's eyes turning blue means he becomes *cough cough* more gentle... that means that 99% of the time he's always in crazy-assed blood-thirsty-killer mode?! HAHAHAHAHA you really are a f&ckin psycho, i knew it HAHAHA!

saitou: Ahou ga. *glares* *...his sexy amber-eyed glare*

sano: *suddenly stops laughing and swoons*

diggler: oroooo ^^;;;;;;;


End file.
